Luigi wrote: ↑Fri Oct 06, 2017 10:05 am

bangkokhooker wrote: ↑Fri Oct 06, 2017 9:59 am Who do Yanks pay $189 and most other barang pay $399 for a 1 year visa?
Are they scared they will come and bomb the fuck out the place and drop some Agent Orange again?

At least the Chinks pay more. That'll keep them out for sure.

PS Is Fiona hot or a robot?

In addition Cambodians pay $399 + $135 stamping fee.

Do don't know if Fiona is hot or not. Feel free to inquire directly. Definitely not a bot. Knows her biz.

I bet Vietnam is the last place Cambodians would go to do business. Unless they are souless.

That's nice.

bangkokhooker wrote: ↑Fri Oct 06, 2017 10:12 am

Luigi wrote: ↑Fri Oct 06, 2017 10:05 am

bangkokhooker wrote: ↑Fri Oct 06, 2017 9:59 am Who do Yanks pay $189 and most other barang pay $399 for a 1 year visa?
Are they scared they will come and bomb the fuck out the place and drop some Agent Orange again?

At least the Chinks pay more. That'll keep them out for sure.

PS Is Fiona hot or a robot?

In addition Cambodians pay $399 + $135 stamping fee.

Do don't know if Fiona is hot or not. Feel free to inquire directly. Definitely not a bot. Knows her biz.

I bet Vietnam is the last place Cambodians would go to do business. Unless they are souless.

I would rate that as mostly true. But there are exceptions. Once stamped in you can come & go at remote provincial outposts.
I asked my wife & she is willing to go as long as she can return to Svay Reing via outpost or Baveat.
Just keeping my options open.

Wow! Just 'talked' to Fiona, and for Canadians, a 1 year multiple entry business visa is $399 + stamping fee. She said, for retirement, they can get it without the applicant having a sponsor.

This is interesting. I'll be retiring in January 2019 at latest (maybe this Jan.) and am looking for a place... can't (and don't want to) stay in China.

Last summer I did an exploratory trip looking at places with retirement in mind: I was thinking about Snooky... until I arrived and realized might as well stay in fuckin' China! I like Kampot but there are very few places with a pool to rent... and anything (decent) along the river is exorbitantly priced. Kep is great... but there's SFA to do (and I mean SFA) and no western 'amenities'. I ended up on Phu Quoc and fell in love with the place (even found a great house for rent) but, because of the visa situation, rejected the idea. Now that's changed.

I already have plans - made a booking last summer - to return to Phu Quoc next January/February. Then, I'll be seriously looking for a place to rent.

Update -

The fees for applying for a Vietnam VOA vary dramatically!
I'm Canadian, and a 1-year, multiple entry Business Visa (not including the fixed, $135 stamping fee paid to Immigration when you enter the country) range from $250 to S420 depending on the service you use.

The best price I found is with https://www.vietnamimmigration.org/
If you apply by email [email protected], it's less than applying on their website - I got $30 off... and they send you an invoice to pay by VISA card on a secure site.

It pays to shop around.

P.S. The secure site for paying with VISA turns out to be PayPal.

I just paid them in CAD and used my Canadian bank account (on PayPal). It's a sort of a 'six of one, half a dozen of the other' situation i.e. PayPal's shitty conversion rate for USD to CAD vs. my bank's shitty conversion rate if the charge were in USD on my VISA card. It works out to be almost the same.

Cruisemonkey wrote: ↑Fri Oct 06, 2017 7:23 am The trouble with retiring in Vietnam is the visa 'thing'. From what I understand, you have to leave the country every three months, get a new visa and come back.

I lived there for three years and never had to leave. Visa's are not a problem.

Woody wrote: ↑Fri Oct 20, 2017 8:44 am

Cruisemonkey wrote: ↑Fri Oct 06, 2017 7:23 am The trouble with retiring in Vietnam is the visa 'thing'. From what I understand, you have to leave the country every three months, get a new visa and come back.

I lived there for three years and never had to leave. Visa's are not a problem.

This^^^. I live in southern Vietnam. I paid $290US total for a 6-month multi to a well recommended service that posts on an FB expats page. I am waiting on another contact to find out what my next extension will cost. In country, you can get anything you want through the backdoor, usually owned by important officials.

^^Just the same as Cambodia was. Please keep us updated on your next extension.